Jaune Soldiering On
by Lucky Lilliana
Summary: Set a few years after Volume 3. Jaune, after becoming a soldier in his own right, visits an old friend.


**Hello all, this is Den R. Yes, surprisingly, I'm not dead.**

 **Anyway, I've been gone for a while, but I haven't stopped receiving notifications in my email about all the story and author favorites. That is phenomenal! Even, to this day, I still get messages in my email. Thank you guys so much for favoriting me and my work. It means the world to me. Even though I'm not an aspiring writer.**

 **Matter of fact, I only wrote a short story just a couple of days ago at the current writing of this A/N.**

 **This is just a thank you for you all who have supported me and continue to favorite my stories.**

 _Restrictions_

There has to be one main character. (Jaune)

Time ( A couple years after the events of volume 3.)

Jaune is now a trained soldier.

* * *

 _Dang. Is it me? Or are the Grimm getting tougher?_ Jaune thought, as he swung Crocea Mors easily across a Beowolf's head, only to find it lodged through a few inches of skin and muscle. Jaune grunted as he cleaved the beast's head in two. The carnal roars of the Grimm surrounding him had started to give him a headache, and the Wolf-like creature in front of him didn't help matters.

"Shut up." He murmured as he managed to pull the sword through the rest of the appendage. The head fell with a soft thunk. Jaune flung his sword, cleaning the crimson blood from it. He held his shield up, the familiar weight comforting to him. It had survived, along with him.

Another Beowolf tried a sneak attack, but found that his claws swiped at empty air. Jaune had ducked at the last second, and slashed the creature across the chest. The Grimm howled in pain and backed away, trying to gain some distance between the hunter and himself.

Jaune hefted the sword onto his shoulder, a deadpan look on his visage; the years of fighting had gotten to him. "Come on," Jaune said, his voice containing barely any emotion, "It's been awhile since I had a good fight."

Jaune knew the creature couldn't understand him, but for a brief moment, the Beowolf hesitated, before charging in.

Jaune held his sword at the ready, getting ready for a final strike. He had been practicing this one, and still needed to get the timing down. The scars on his body could attest to that. Weeks of practicing on a single type of Grimm until he could learn the attack timing and pattern, and strike at the last possible moment.

It was a double edged sword, as he had come out battered and bruised more times than he had been successful with the technique. However, today was a day that he felt especially confident in his timing.

His ocean colored eyes watched the Beowolf carefully. To everybody else, the Beowolf was moving at incredible speed, but to Jaune, he could see each movement clearly.

 _Oh yeah...I feel really good about my chances._ Jaune thought to himself, his sinewy muscles starting to tense as the Beowolf got closer.

When the Wolf was only a breath away, Jaune swung, with inhuman speed, and ripped right through the monster. The torso and lower half of the body were a couple feet away from each other, and then slowly dissipated into the night sky.

Jaune felt the slightest hint of a smile forming on his lips.

 _That felt great...I need to be able to utilize that more. Not when I'm going toe-to-toe with just one Grimm._

Jaune had strength, and he knew that. He was just lacking speed. If he could move as fast as Ruby, he then knew that he would be on the fast track to being the strongest hunter. But, being able to go as fast as Ruby, without her semblance, would probably wear him down and be more of a hinderance, as his body probably couldn't take the stress.

He felt his muscles groan and complain about his recent fight. He knew for sure that moving like that at constant rate on the battlefield would only end up getting him killed. He couldn't have that.

As the battle with the remaining Grimm came to a close, Jaune counted about sixty Grimm slain. He looked around the forest landscape, keeping his senses sharp for any more attacks. He wasn't tired from the battle, but he would be annoyed if he had to go through another wave like that.

After listening for a minute, Jaune pushes his sword into his sheath, and started trudging through the forest.

His mind wandered as he came closer and closer to Vale. He hadn't been here in a couple months, since he was off training. He reminisced of all the good, and not so good times, at Beacon. He still remembered the dance and how much fun that was. Honestly, that was the last time he remembered dancing.

 _I wonder how everyone else is doing._ He thought to himself.

He stopped by a small stream near the city and drank from it. The liquid cooled his throat as he gulped greedily. After that, he washed his face quickly with the water, getting rid of all the blood and grime that had accumulated on his person in the past few hours.

He stared at his reflection. Years of training had hardened his face, and with a better defined jaw. His shoulders and collarbone had grown quite well, too, and his chest was broad. He donned a grungy, hazel colored jacket, with a white t-shirt underneath. His pants were the hue of coal, and framed his legs perfectly. He traded in his sneakers for a pair of brown combat boots-better grip on rougher terrain. His armor was still in the same place, but had to be refitted with his growing body. And Crocea Mors was the same as it had ever been.

Although, his hair had grown a bit long for his liking, so he tied it up into a ponytail. The length of his golden hair stopped at shoulder height, but he could tell that it was going to get longer the more he waited to get a haircut.

 _Gotta get on that._ He thought absently as he played with his hair.

He continued his trek, thinking about his time at Beacon. As he got closer, the memories became stronger.

Jaune walked on the familiar pavement of the city. It was void of life. The Grimm had moved onto another settlement. Of course, there were a few roaming Grimm here and there, but he could dispatch them easily enough.

His gaze was drawn upwards, toward the petrified dragon that still lay there. He sighed heavily, finally feeling tired after hours of walking. He walked forward, each footfall felt heavier than the last.

For the most part, the Grimm had either avoided him, or hadn't seen him. In either case, he had enjoyed some silence, save the occasional howl or hiss, but he had grown accustomed to those sounds. When he managed to make his way to the epicenter of town, he could see the stone monument, now overgrown with moss and other vegetation, was looming.

He stood about ten feet away from the rocky wall. He had trouble finding the strength to move forward.

When he did, he found himself staring at a single name amongst a dozen others. He could feel his heart start to ache.

 _Interesting. I thought that didn't work anymore._ He chuckled dryly to himself. His fingers slowly traced over the extruded letters. He took a moment on each letter of the name. A thousand conversations running through his mind as the cool stone touched his fingertips.

"Hey..." He was greeted with silence.

"I know it's been a long time...I don't visit you as much as I should." The only thing that responded was the wind; a low, whistling sound.

"...I think...I've gotten a bit stronger. I...I wish you were there...to give me some more guidance...I don't think I'm utilizing myself as well as I should..." He laughed to no one in particular, and he could feel his voice shake.

"...I...it's...I've been thinking...for a long time now." Jaune paused, trying to search for the right words.

"At first...I was struck with grief...my best friend had been..." He struggled choking this word out. "Ripped away from me. For an agonizingly long time...I thought...I felt a despair like nothing I've ever felt before."

He stopped speaking for a minute, trying to force himself to calm down.

"Then, when I was...on the road with Ruby, Nora, and Ren, my grief turned to anger, and I was obsessed with revenge. However, being with those three...kept me sane." He could only chuckle at that.

"Being with them helped me in my training... but at one point...I came to the conclusion that...I...was holding them back. So I left...in the dead of night. Leaving only a note, saying how thankful I was for them to be there, and how much I enjoyed their company. That's been a few months now. I hope they're alright..." He trailed off, slightly feeling guilty.

"After that, I had done nothing but train on Grimm, and taking odd jobs as a Hunter. Man...there are some really crazy stories that I've got to tell you." He grinned slightly at the thought.

"I realize that I'm not as strong on my own as I am with a team...but I needed some time to think by myself. And I finally want to give you the answer that I couldn't give you back then." He could feel his tears welling up behind his eyes.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you! I'm sorry for being a dunce! I'm sorry for not realizing your feelings sooner! I'm sorry that I was useless! I'm sorry... " He exclaimed, the tears bursting forth, however, Jaune didn't waver from his spot.

He cast his head down, and let loose years of grief. He couldn't keep himself from clutching his body as he sobbed.

"I wish I could have spent some more time with you!" He managed to choke out between breaths.

He continued to cry, and let out all his feelings, still trying to stand tall.

Once his breathing had returned to a semi-normal capacity, he looked back to the memorial, at Pyrrha's name.

"I was bitter towards the world. I was angry at myself, the Grimm, and Cinder. Now...I've come to realize..." He stopped, carefully picking his words.

"I'm going to make sure...that this life doesn't go to waste. You saved a lot of people." He clenched his fists tightly.

"Now, it's my turn." He said, gritting his teeth.

He took out a small flower from his jacket pocket, and laid it at the ground.

"Thank you. For everything." He said quietly, kissing his fingers and pressing his fingertips to the flower.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! Just a one shot for now. I depressed myself writing this. Haha. Please don't hate me...please?**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read this! I really appreciate you guys taking time out of your day to read, and I hope, enjoy this story.**

 **So, the main reason I'm not writing as much is because I'm pursuing a career in 3d animation. I'm currently working on my own short film. So this was more like a quick thing to get some creativity out there.**

 **I'm going to try and document my process of working on the short film. I'm currently working on storyboards.**

Hello all, this is Den R. Yes, surprisingly, I'm not dead.

Anyway, I've been gone for a while, but I haven't stopped receiving notifications in my email about all the story and author favorites. That is phenomenal! Even, to this day, I still get messages in my email. Thank you guys so much for favoriting me and my work. It means the world to me. Even though I'm not an aspiring writer.

Matter of fact, I only wrote a short story just a couple of days ago at the current writing of this A/N.

This is just a thank you for you all who have supported me and continue to favorite my stories.

Restrictions

There has to be one main character. (Jaune)

Time ( A couple years after the events of volume 3.)

It needs to have an uplifting theme.

Jaune is now a trained soldier.

Story

Dang. Is it me? Or are the Grimm getting tougher? Jaune thought, as he swung Crocea Mors easily across a Beowolf's head, only to find it lodged through a few inches of skin and muscle. Jaune grunted as he cleaved the beast's head in two. The carnal roars of the Grimm surrounding him had started to give him a headache, and the Wolf-like creature in front of him didn't help matters.

"Shut up." He murmured as he managed to pull the sword through the rest of the appendage. The head fell with a soft thunk. Jaune flung his sword, cleaning the crimson blood from it. He held his shield up, the familiar weight comforting to him. It had survived, along with him.

Another Beowolf tried a sneak attack, but found that his claws swiped at empty air. Jaune had ducked at the last second, and slashed the creature across the chest. The Grimm howled in pain and backed away, trying to gain some distance between the hunter and himself.

Jaune hefted the sword onto his shoulder, a deadpan look on his visage; the years of fighting had gotten to him. "Come on," Jaune said, his voice containing barely any emotion, "It's been awhile since I had a good fight."

Jaune knew the creature couldn't understand him, but for a brief moment, the Beowolf hesitated, before charging in.

Jaune held his sword at the ready, getting ready for a final strike. He had been practicing this one, and still needed to get the timing down. The scars on his body could attest to that. Weeks of practicing on a single type of Grimm until he could learn the attack timing and pattern, and strike at the last possible moment.

It was a double edged sword, as he had come out battered and bruised more times than he had been successful with the technique. However, today was a day that he felt especially confident in his timing.

His ocean colored eyes watched the Beowolf carefully. To everybody else, the Beowolf was moving at incredible speed, but to Jaune, he could see each movement clearly.

Oh yeah...I feel really good about my chances. Jaune thought to himself, his sinewy muscles starting to tense as the Beowolf got closer.

When the Wolf was only a breath away, Jaune swung, with inhuman speed, and ripped right through the monster. The torso and lower half of the body were a couple feet away from each other, and then slowly dissipated into the night sky.

Jaune felt the slightest hint of a smile forming on his lips.

That felt great...I need to be able to utilize that more. Not when I'm going toe-to-toe with just one Grimm.

Jaune had strength, and he knew that. He was just lacking speed. If he could move as fast as Ruby, he then knew that he would be on the fast track to being the strongest hunter. But, being able to go as fast as Ruby, without her semblance, would probably wear him down and be more of a hinderance, as his body probably couldn't take the stress.

He felt his muscles groan and complain about his recent fight. He knew for sure that moving like that at constant rate on the battlefield would only end up getting him killed. He couldn't have that.

As the battle with the remaining Grimm came to a close, Jaune counted about sixty Grimm slain. He looked around the forest landscape, keeping his senses sharp for any more attacks. He wasn't tired from the battle, but he would be annoyed if he had to go through another wave like that.

After listening for a minute, Jaune pushes his sword into his sheath, and started trudging through the forest.

His mind wandered as he came closer and closer to Vale. He hadn't been here in a couple months, since he was off training. He reminisced of all the good, and not so good times, at Beacon. He still remembered the dance and how much fun that was. Honestly, that was the last time he remembered dancing.

I wonder how everyone else is doing. He thought to himself.

He stopped by a small stream near the city and drank from it. The liquid cooled his throat as he gulped greedily. After that, he washed his face quickly with the water, getting rid of all the blood and grime that had accumulated on his person in the past few hours.

He stared at his reflection. Years of training had hardened his face, and with a better defined jaw. His shoulders and collarbone had grown quite well, too, and his chest was broad. He donned a grungy, hazel colored jacket, with a white t-shirt underneath. His pants were the hue of coal, and framed his legs perfectly. He traded in his sneakers for a pair of brown combat boots-better grip on rougher terrain. His armor was still in the same place, but had to be refitted with his growing body. And Crocea Mors was the same as it had ever been.

Although, his hair had grown a bit long for his liking, so he tied it up into a ponytail. The length of his golden hair stopped at shoulder height, but he could tell that it was going to get longer the more he waited to get a haircut.

Gotta get on that. He thought absently as he played with his hair.

He continued his trek, thinking about his time at Beacon. As he got closer, the memories became stronger.

Jaune walked on the familiar pavement of the city. It was void of life. The Grimm had moved onto another settlement. Of course, there were a few roaming Grimm here and there, but he could dispatch them easily enough.

His gaze was drawn upwards, toward the petrified dragon that still lay there. He sighed heavily, finally feeling tired after hours of walking. He walked forward, each footfall felt heavier than the last.

For the most part, the Grimm had either avoided him, or hadn't seen him. In either case, he had enjoyed some silence, save the occasional howl or hiss, but he had grown accustomed to those sounds. When he managed to make his way to the epicenter of town, he could see the stone monument, now overgrown with moss and other vegetation, was looming.

He stood about ten feet away from the rocky wall. He had trouble finding the strength to move forward.

When he did, he found himself staring at a single name amongst a dozen others. He could feel his heart start to ache.

Interesting. I thought that didn't work anymore. He chuckled dryly to himself. His fingers slowly traced over the extruded letters. He took a moment on each letter of the name. A thousand conversations running through his mind as the cool stone touched his fingertips.

"Hey..." He was greeted with silence.

"I know it's been a long time...I don't visit you as much as I should." The only thing that responded was the wind; a low, whistling sound.

"...I think...I've gotten a bit stronger. I...I wish you were there...to give me some more guidance...I don't think I'm utilizing myself as well as I should..." He laughed to no one in particular, and he could feel his voice shake.

"...I...it's...I've been thinking...for a long time now." Jaune paused, trying to search for the right words.

"At first...I was struck with grief...my best friend had been..." He struggled choking this word out. "Ripped away from me. For an agonizingly long time...I thought...I felt a despair like nothing I've ever felt before."

He stopped speaking for a minute, trying to force himself to calm down.

"Then, when I was...on the road with Ruby, Nora, and Ren, my grief turned to anger, and I was obsessed with revenge. However, being with those three...kept me sane." He could only chuckle at that.

"Being with them helped me in my training... but at one point...I came to the conclusion that...I...was holding them back. So I left...in the dead of night. Leaving only a note, saying how thankful I was for them to be there, and how much I enjoyed their company. That's been a few months now. I hope they're alright..." He trailed off, slightly feeling guilty.

"After that, I had done nothing but train on Grimm, and taking odd jobs as a Hunter. Man...there are some really crazy stories that I've got to tell you." He grinned slightly at the thought.

"I realize that I'm not as strong on my own as I am with a team...but I needed some time to think by myself. And I finally want to give you the answer that I couldn't give you back then." He could feel his tears welling up behind his eyes.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't help you! I'm sorry for being a dunce! I'm sorry for not realizing your feelings sooner! I'm sorry that I was useless! I'm sorry... " He exclaimed, the tears bursting forth, however, Jaune didn't waver from his spot.

He cast his head down, and let loose years of grief. He couldn't keep himself from clutching his body as he sobbed.

"I wish I could have spent some more time with you!" He managed to choke out between breaths.

He continued to cry, and let out all his feelings, still trying to stand tall.

Once his breathing had returned to a semi-normal capacity, he looked back to the memorial, at Pyrrha's name.

"I was bitter towards the world. I was angry at myself, the Grimm, and Cinder. Now...I've come to realize..." He stopped, carefully picking his words.

"I'm going to make sure...that this life doesn't go to waste. You saved a lot of people." He clenched his fists tightly.

"Now, it's my turn." He said, gritting his teeth.

He took out a small flower from his jacket pocket, and laid it at the ground.

"Thank you. For everything." He said quietly, kissing his fingers and pressing his fingertips to the flower.

A/N: Hey! Just a one shot for now. I depressed myself writing this. Haha. Please don't hate me...please?

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I really appreciate you guys taking time out of your day to read, and I hope, enjoy this story.

So, the main reason I'm not writing as much is because I'm pursuing a career in 3d animation. I'm currently working on my own short film. So this was more like a quick thing to get some creativity out there.

I'm going to try and document my process of working on the short film. I'm currently working on storyboards.

channel/UCyaeRmif2Lzb2gVRwCZR5gQ

Here is my youtube channel if you guys are interested! Thank you so much!


End file.
